Hello 6th grade families, I am Mrs. Ebert, the band director at Cuthbertson Middle School. We are looking for talented, excited, and hard-working individuals to join our band. Students do not need to have any prior musical knowledge or training in order to play a musical instrument.
The Cuthbertson Middle School band is one of the top bands in our state and our students enjoy achieving at a high level. Many students choose to join band because we have a family feel that goes beyond the classroom and lots of our students earn large college scholarships, just by playing an instrument. Students don’t need to have any prior musical knowledge in order to join, and because band is a class, they can participate in sports and other activities also.
Basic Band Information
- 6th grade instruments will be delivered to CMS and passed out to students the 1st or 2nd week of school. If you have not made rental arrangements yet, please contact Music and Arts 704-341-0000 to rent an instrument.
- We will be using the Tradition of Excellence Book 1 (it’s red) for our music book and each student will need to have their own copy. If the rental instrument did not come with a book, students will need to purchase their own copy for class. It can be purchased through the local music store, Amazon, or online at musicarts.com . A music stand is also beneficial for at home practice time.
- Students participating in 6th grade band will be divided up into 2 classes based on the instrument they play, either Brass (will include Saxophones also) or Woodwinds. Being grouped with similar instruments makes for an easier time learning beginning band techniques.
- Part of the beginning band is to find the best instrument for each student. It’s very common for students to switch to different instruments during this time to find their best fit. It’s super easy and quick for the music store to switch out instruments, so no worries. It’s part of the process!
See what our students say about band! Advice from some of our students:
“I have to persuade you band is right for you. Well not much to say, but, it is! I mean band is soooooooooo much fun like all the songs you get to learn, the feeling of accomplishing something, and the people are cool too! One of the best parts of band is when you get to play a part of a song but the other people are each playing a different piece of the song, so when you put it together, you get a really cool song. It’s so cool. Anyways, hope you are considering doing band. Your friend, the 6th grader :)”
“Does band benefit me in the future? Yes. in the short answer. In the long answer, it makes you smarter by working certain parts of your brain that you have never worked before. Plus the band directors give very fun life lessons that aren’t even about music most of the time but about being successful in anything you try.”
“I love being part of a band and I am sure you will too . Being in a band makes you feel super important, and you are, since every single instrument matters in a band. When you walk into the band room you get an exciting feeling that you are going to learn how to play something great, something new and exciting, since Mrs. Ebert always has super fun pieces for you to play. At first, I have to admit, I did not want to be in band since I was scared of making a fool of myself when playing something new. But, no, that is not what band is about. It’s about never giving up, and always thinking “I can do this” or “I will become the musician I want to be.”